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Cirelli was visiting her daughter, who lives near Allentown, and stopped by Locust Lake for a walk. She had been at the park once before years ago and wanted to come back.

Remarking about the leaves, she said, "It's beautiful."

Back home in New Jersey, the leaves are not in their peak.

"It's not as brilliant as this right now," she said.

Frank Snyder, service forester with the Weiser Forest District, said everyone can also enjoy the scenery like Wallace and Circelli.

"It's the last chance before winter to enjoy the warm weather," he said Friday.

The area is experiencing 80 percent or more of its fall coloration, according to the weekly fall foliage report by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

"In a month from now, it could be quite cold. So this is a good opportunity to get out and at the same time, you're looking at this changing landscape," Snyder said.

Yellow, red and orange and some still green leaves cover the county.

"By Thanksgiving, there will be very little leaves on the trees," Snyder said.

In Schuylkill County, trees make up 70 percent of the landscape, he said.

"When they're all mixed together it's exciting though. It's almost like a miracle," he said.

Soaking in nature's beauty doesn't mean you have to travel far.

"You can walk in your backyard and look at a tree," Snyder said.

Leaves change color because the chlorophyll stops being produced in the leaves and the other colors that exist are what we see.

Snyder said the leaves that have changed color are the "true color" of the leaf.

A Norway maple at the corner of Mountain Road and Tumbling Run Road in Blythe Township, with its bright yellow leaves caught Snyder's attention as he drove to Locust Lake State Park.

"The leaves turn yellow and they hang on for along time," he said.

Joe Ceru, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, State College, said Friday that weather plays a role in the changing of the leaves. If it is warmer and the light lasts longer, then the leaves can stay longer, he said, adding they don't use up as much energy.

A yellow sugar maple tree stood out among the others at Locust Lake Thursday. Normally, the leaves would be a deep green.

"That's a beautiful tree," Snyder said.

Patrick M. "Porcupine Pat" McKinney, the environmental education coordinator for the Schuylkill Conservation District, agreed Friday it's a great time to take in the beauty of the county.

Viewing the leaves is "a general way to appreciate your surroundings. It makes you more whole," he said Friday.

He agreed with Snyder that a lot of the trees will lose leaves in about three weeks.

"There's still (an) ample amount of leaves," McKinney said.

The oak trees keep their leaves longer because that's just what they do, both said.

Ringtown Boulevard just outside of Shenandoah Heights at the Ringtown overlook; Sweet Arrow Lake Road in Pine Grove where the leaves can be seen reflecting off the water; and Tumbling Run are particularly colorful right now, he said.

"It's all about appreciation," he said.

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